The cycleway may sound like a far-fetched idea today, but at the time, most Americans moved through cities by foot, historian and author Peter Norton told Business Insider. City folk weren’t yet sure if they should adopt cars.

“Many experts and ordinary people agreed that cars didn’t really belong in cities,” he said. “They made a lot of sense in the country, but in the city, they demanded too much space, drove pedestrians off the streets, and injured too many people.”

The California Cycleway likely failed because it was meant for recreation, rather than for efficient commutes, according to Norton. For those who rode bikes as an inexpensive way to get around, the toll seemed steep. The timing of the construction was also unfortunate; the Cycleway was built just as recreational cycling was going out of fashion.

Local cycling clubs and activist groups like the League of American Wheelmen competed against powerful auto manufacturers and wealthy car owners.

“The future was not so much a natural evolution, but more a struggle for control,” Norton said.

Today, most city infrastructure is still planned around the needs of cars. But many cities (especially European ones) are trying to change that by building extensive bike lanes and improving public transit. Oslo recently announced that it will ban cars from its city center by 2019, and Madrid plans to do the same by 2020.